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Follow UsAhead of the 2025 Women’s Premier League (WPL), the five franchises have announced the retained players list without too much surprise, with Heather Knight being the biggest name not retained ahead of the new season.
Mumbai let go of Issy Wong, while Delhi ended up releasing Laura Harris. All the teams have released at least one overseas player, which was the trend of the auction.
Here’s the full list of retained and released players ahead of the 2025 WPL Auction:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)
The 2024 WPL winners have maintained the core of their winning side, with just Nadine de Klerk finding herself out of the setup, which is a direct result of Danni Wyatt-Hodge moving from UP Warriorz for INR 30 lakhs.
In addition, they have released Heather Knight, Simran Dil Bahadur, Disha Kasat, Shubha Sateesh, Shradda Pokharkar, and Indrani Roy, keeping everyone else intact. However, they will be unable to acquire any overseas player at the auction.
Players Retained: Smriti Mandhana (c), Sabbineni Meghana, Richa Ghosh (wk), Ellyse Perry*, Georgia Wareham*, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, Sophie Devine*, Renuka Singh, Sophie Molineux*, Ekta Bisht, Kate Cross*, Kanika Ahuja, Danni Wyatt* (Traded from UPW)
Players released: Heather Knight, Simran Dil Bahadur, Disha Kasat, Shubha Sateesh, Shradda Pokharkar, Indrani Roy, Nadine de Klerk*
Purse remaining: INR 3.25 crore
Mumbai Indians (MI)
On expected lines, Mumbai have retained almost their entire squad from last season, barring the exception of Priyanka Bala, Humairaa Kaazi, Fatima Jaffer and Isabelle Wong. There’s a good chance that all other franchises will want Wong in their setup, with her ability to ramp up the pace.
Players retained: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Amelia Kerr*, Chloe Tryon*, Hayley Matthews*, Jintimani Kalita, Nat Sciver-Brunt*, Pooja Vastrakar, Sajeevan Sajana, Shabnim Ismail*, Saika Ishaque, Amanjot Kaur, Amandeep Kaur, Keerthana
Players released: Priyanka Bala, Humairaa Kaazi, Fatima Jaffer and Isabelle Wong
Purse remaining: INR 2.65 crore
Delhi Capitals (DC)
Two-time WPL finalists Delhi Capitals have also followed MI's example, retaining the core of their side. However, Laura Harris, Ashwani Kumari, Poonam Yadav, and Aparna Mondal have not been included.
Will Poonam Yadav be one of the spinners who will be highly sought-after at the auction?
Players retained: Meg Lanning* (c), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Taniya Bhatia (wk)
Alice Capsey*, Annabel Sutherland*, Marizanne Kapp*, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Arundhati Reddy, Jess Jonassen*, Titas Sadhu, Minnu Mani, Sneha Deepthi
Purse remaining: INR 2.5 crore
Players released: Poonam Yadav, Laura Harris*, Ashwani Kumari, Aparna Mondal
Gujarat Giants (GG)
India all-rounder Sneh Rana is perhaps the biggest Indian player to be released ahead of the auction. Along with Rana, the Giants have also released T20 World Cup winner Lea Tahuhu and Scotland skipper Kathryn Bryce, among others.
Players retained: Beth Mooney (c), Laura Wolvaardt, Phoebe Litchfield, Ashleigh Gardner, Harleen Deol, Dayalan Hemalatha, Tąnuja Kanwer, Mannat Kashyap, Meghna Singh, Shabnam Shakil, Bharti Fulmali, Kashvee Gautam, Priya Mishra, Sayali Satghare
Purse remaining: INR 4.4 crore
Players released: Sneh Rana, Kathryn Bryce, Trisha Poojitha, Veda Krishnamurthy, Tarannum Pathan, Lea Tahuhu
UP Warriorz (UPW)
The same trend continued with UP Warriorz, who released Laxmi Yadav, Parshavi Chopra, S Yashasri, and Lauren Bell. Danni Wyatt's move to RCB also freed up one more space, which means they can target someone like Deandre Dottin potentially.
Players retained: Alyssa Healy (c), Kiran Navgire, Shweta Sehrawat, Deepti Sharma, Chamari Athapaththu, Grace Harris, Sophie Ecclestone, Tahlia Mcgrath, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Saima Thakor, Anjali Sarvani, Gouher Sultana, Poonam Khemnar, Uma Chetry, Vrinda Dinesh
Purse remaining: INR 3.9 crore
Players released: Laxmi Yadav, Parshavi Chopra, S Yashasri, Lauren Bell and Danni Wyatt
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